Labl Group
We want to help small and medium fashion brands with the production of high-quality knitwear so they can focus on growing their business.
Our company will not produce fashion in the traditional way, but we will redesign the production process digitally.
09/01/2023
At Labl we think of how we could influence both the community and the environment. In a world of fast fashion, it is important to remember the value of craftsmanship. It is why we are proud to offer an incredible amount of care, attention to detail to making each piece of a single garment from sketching, drafting, cutting, sewing and trimming.
We are also taking steps towards conserving the environment and managing our waste. This means an approach to manufacturing that respects the environment and supports a skilled dynamic workforce. A workforce who produce high quality clothing that our clients and their customers love and want to keep.
02/01/2023
Happy New Year!
From the Labl Fraternity, we take this opportunity to thank you for walking with us in 2022. We can't thank you enough!
And now, in the year 2023! We take this opportunity to wish you luck and good health in 2023!
28/12/2022
And YES! We managed through covid-19 victorious despite a heap of challenges along the way. Actually, we were able to toss beer!!!! After a period of restrictions and confinements, we could meet up again! The world was promising, again! And this could only rejuvenate our idea better and better. And construction work continued as in the photos attached.
Our idea goes beyond providing a clean and safe place. We are rethinking working times, air quality and what a social workplace means: Workers enjoying a communal garden and healthy meals together. Developing knowledge and skills through extra-curricular education and vocational training. Creating a new future.
24/12/2022
From the Labl family to yours, Happy Holidays!
May this Holiday Season bring along many more joys for you and yours to remember.
07/04/2020
With an annual of 1.5 trillion in sales the fashion industry is big business. But it’s also the world's second biggest polluter and cause of horrible working conditions. Due to global population growth the fashion industry is not only large, it is also growing rapidly.
To meet the world's growing demand ‘fast fashion’ became the new norm that led to a continuous surge of new items. Therefore this competitive industry is driven by increasingly low-cost products in large growing volumes. The problem is that the responsibility of high volumes lies with fashion brands and retailers. Overstock is liquidated and yearly millions of unsold goods end up in landfill or incineration. Producers, Brands and consumers treat garments as disposable products. Waste is one of the ‘hidden’ drivers of this linear system.
The traditional business model builds on the assumption of infinite growth. But instead it results in a continuous and accelerated race to the bottom. High volume, low margins and high waste (environmentally, socially and profitability). The outcome of this traditional system is depletion of natural resources, intensive farming practices, use of non-renewable resources, exploitation of workers and many other negative externalization in the disconnected supply chain. Most ‘green’ initiatives only solve parts of the systematic problem and are merely cosmetic measures that will, in best case, slow down the race to the bottom.
As Labl, we believe in a redesign of the system in order to shift the negative spiral upwards and use fashion as a force for a sustainable future.
06/04/2020
Ready?
When learning a skill, it's natural to want to learn from those that are great at it. It's also valuable, however, to observe those that are still learning, whether they are a few steps ahead of you or your immediate peers. You can learn what you think is effective, what you do not like and want to avoid, and include these ideas into your own work. The key here is constructive critique and introspection: thinking carefully about what is good or bad in any given example, being honest about whether your work has the same qualities, and being willing to rework based on feedback and advice.
We have established Labl Group in Kenya and we are setting up community production facilities for social and sustainable fashion at the grassroots in our focus areas. We will not produce fashion in the traditional way, but we will drastically redesign the production process and supply chain. The key in our system redesign is that we, as producers, take back the responsibility for (over) production. Therefore we choose to not sell our garments to fashion brands and retailers, we produce and get paid by the end-customer, hence; fashion as a service for brands and retailers (our customers). By taking this responsibility we are incentivized to produce in low volumes, drastically reduce waste and overproduction and design for circularity in order to recycle our products. Low volumes reduce waste and fewer waste results in higher margins for everyone in the value chain - with this, I mean that if you have own fashion store and you are a committed small fashion brand, we are soon going to support you by providing stock and taking responsibility for your dead stock.
To mitigate our risks we are placing our production facilities near potential cotton production areas and eventually we will close the value chain, from seed to garment by supporting the revival of the Kenyan cotton industry through the production of organic cotton. This increases the economic and environmental welfare of local communities and enables reliable partnerships for the long term. If local communities have long term economic security, we can together, invest in production technologies that will reduce the environmental footprint drastically.
27/03/2020
We had another great week having achieved a lot. Soak Pit, Septic Tank and Gate/Powerhouse started in earnest. Local community continues to contribute labor and as a result get source of income. They are lucky to work despite the continued spread of CoronaVirus, however, we are observing all measures to protect the workers. Keep following and stay safe!
11/03/2020
Despite the blessing of rains that delayed our work-plan, we are through with the facility's foundation which is 4 feet deep. As well, we finished digging down septic and soak-pit holes. The toilets' foundation is on course too. We are indeed excited and can't wait for the new week's assignment! Keep posted and tag along with your friends!
08/03/2020
It has been such a successful moment. We graded our access road, and since we exist as a social enterprise, we did it longer than we need to benefit the communities at the far end. We will be putting murram soon and fixing the drainage and as well plant trees along the road. Stay tuned and tag along your friend.
21/02/2020
As we gear towards realizing our first facility, the first step is to construct a simple road to access our 4-acre plot of land where the facility will stand tall. Located 15 kilometers from Voi and on the foot of the Sagalla Hill, our facility gazes at the Taita Hills and the expansive Tsavo West National park and various private conservation ranches.
The road is of 250 meters in length and it's set to be the first to benefit the community around our plot. First and foremost, clearing of bush and making the drainage will be done by the community members, meaning an income for them. As well, this road is set to benefit 8 households with good access to their homes. The road will also be used for electricity and water lines in the future. We are done with bush clearing and very ready for grading and putting murram ready for use.
12/02/2020
There is always that person behind a piece of every clothing you see around. This person dreams just like you! You wear the clothes of these people. I promise you, Labl Fashion is more than the fashion stories you are used to. Ready? https://www.lablgroupea.com
Welcome to Labl Group East Africa
The fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter and cause of many horrible working conditions. Many traditional producers are polluting the environment and have unfair and unethical ethical working condition. The problem with traditional producers is that they have legacy systems and old ways of working. Change is expensive and therefore social welfare and sustainability comes with a price.
“Limited to local sales, millions of communities are trapped in their small economies, unable to break the poverty trap. They struggle to sustain their families and business. One of the biggest problems is exclusion of financial services which limits market access investment opportunities."
IMPLICATIONS
Over one billion people in the world do not have access to financial services. That means they don't have a bank account and cannot get loans. This makes it more difficult to save money or invest in new businesses. They stay trapped in poverty. We want to change this!
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